DISNEY PARIS & TRIP WRAP UP

It feels like yesterday and years ago that we were at Disneyland Paris, and either way, this is the time that I have to write about it, so here we are.  This whole trip (see Belgium here and Paris here) took us by surprise, but when we realized we would be so near, John insisted we spend a little time at Disneyland Paris.  He knew how much I would enjoy visiting an international Disney park, so we made the choice to peel off from the Heads on our last day.

It was cold and raining as we headed for the park, but we didn't let that dampen our spirits.  We got checked into our hotel on Disney property (Disney's Newport Bay Club, which feels a lot like the Beach Club at DisneyWorld) and walked to the park just in time to catch the Christmas parade.

It never fails, I cry at every Disney parade.  I've written about my love for Disney, and even though I can't explain it fully, there is something about the joy that resonates deep inside of me.  I found Disneyland Paris to be a beautiful park.  There are some walk-through attractions that are unusual and really well done.

The castle is so beautiful, and I loved the level of detail found throughout.

We did a few attractions and tried to focus on things that are unique to these parks.  The afternoon turned unexpectedly lovely as we explored.

Before it got too dark, we headed out to Walt Disney Studios Park and past Disneyland Hotel that sits between the entrances.  If it had been a little less $$$, we would have stayed there, but even I have my limits.

We wrapped up our night back at Disneyland with fireworks and hot chocolate in the hub before heading back to our hotel for the night.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time there.  Since we are accustomed to visiting DisneyWorld, there are some things that are not as great - like the lack of Mickey-shaped food, the smoking everywhere (hello, Europe), the technology is behind, and it is not quite as pristine.  But - I loved having a taste of international Disney magic, and it was such a treat to experience some holiday fun there.  I'm SO thankful that John insisted we do this.  (I'm still pinching myself that we made it to DisneyWorld, Disneyland AND Disneyland Paris in one calendar year.  I know that is insane.)

We got up pretty early the next morning to catch our train to the airport and head back to Arkansas just in time to turn around and do Thanksgiving a few days after this.  It was a whirlwind FOR SURE.

To sum up our trip - Belgium is better than I ever dreamed, and I would visit it again in a heart beat.  I also would love to get back to the romance that Paris is, and I realized there is also much more to France than just Paris that we would love to see.  Someday, we'd love to see some of the Tour De France there and visit the mountains.

Other tidbits:
- I did manage to wear a bit of leopard every day this trip, which provided a fun challenge for me.
- It is a million times easier to do trans-Atlantic travel without the kids.
- My jet lag was little to none due to taking Tylenol PM to get on track with wherever I was supposed to be.

After all that this fall brought, this trip was a welcome reprieve and felt like a real chance to celebrate not having cancer right now.  It was a reminder that there are always highs and lows in life, and I'm so thankful to have had this time with John in the midst of everything.